Archive of Our Own

I've begun to realize

That whenever I'm with you

You deliver me from the pain in my life

-

Beatrice has imagined reuniting with Ava in a million and one ways over the last three months. 

Sometimes it’s soft and tender, a gentle meeting filled with tears and apologies and a thousand I love yous whispered underneath the lamplight. Sometimes it’s hard and passionate, desperation and longing overruling all thought in a messy meeting of lips and teeth and tongue. Words unneeded in the moment.

Sometimes it’s nuclear. On her darkest nights, when her loneliness can’t be chased away with a late night (to her) call to Camila and her only companions are the tears staining her pillow, she’ll imagine returning to Spain, returning to the arc with a small arsenal to find Ava herself, damn the consequences of her actions. 

Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined finding herself here, in some random, back alley in a seedy neighborhood in New York City, on her knees surrounded by the still-warm bodies of a dozen recently slain foes scattered broken around her. Their blood soaking through her pants legs and staining her skin red.

The only visible source of light in the night is coming from herself as warmth spreads throughout her body. The Divinium tattoos now covering a large portion of her body coming alive beneath her skin with a soft blue glow in the presence of the Halo Bearer.

A figure steps into the soft light, familiar, achingly beautiful. Ava has her arms crossed over her chest, her posture lose and relaxed and Beatrice can just make out the outline of her soft, perfect smile as she pauses only two meters away.

“Nice night for a walk, don’t you think?”

-

Beatrice has been in New York since leaving the OCS.

It wasn’t her intention. She’d only meant to stay for a week or so before moving on to wherever she’d drift to next. She had never really planned on putting anything resembling roots back down until Ava’s return or the start of this Holy War of Lilith’s, when she’d be needed in Spain. 

Whichever came first.

But there was so much rot in the city. So much corruption and so many people needing help. So she’d stayed. Did her best to track down the city’s population of wraiths and other lesser demons and send them back to Hell… or wherever it is they’re actually from. She’s trying not to think about that too much.

She can’t. Thinking about that makes her think about Ava, and she has to be careful when and where she thinks about the other girl. 

It’s admittedly a lot harder work without the Warrior Nun there to just point them out. Beatrice realizes that her close proximity to the Halo Bearer throughout her time at the OCS, while an honor, left some of her demon-hunting skills a little lacking in comparison to other Sister Warriors around the world.

It’s a humbling and slightly humiliating realization. Though Camila is happy to connect her with the recently reestablished OCS branch in Chicago, who give her some pointers and a mountain of thanks for the assistance, considering how stretched thin they are. 

So she stays in shady hotels, the kind that will accept cash without an ID that she has to bring her own bedding to or risk catching an STI or worse. 

She moves often, never staying in the same place for more than a week or so. Adriel’s fanatics aren’t as widespread or as, well, fanatic in the Americas, but she knows her name and face have been passed around some circles. Particularly the violent ones that want to make the individuals responsible for his defeat pay in blood.

And this is a debt Beatrice doesn’t intend to pay. Willingly or otherwise.

Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, depending on how she looks at it, there is plenty of evil within the city that’s not demon or Hell related. Corrupt businessmen and politicians, and Beatrice’s personal preference, crime bosses who easily underestimate her until it’s much too late. 

They’re the ones funding most of her expenses. They don’t particularly need their dirty money once she’s finished disposing of them, after all. And she can use it to fund further… missions. 

There’s a dive bar in Queens she’s come to frequent. The Wandering Soul, it’s called. And while she’d originally been drawn to it because the name resonated with her, tonight she’s here for information. The bartender, a younger Mexican man named Antonio, was impressed with her knowledge of Spanish literature when she’d first arrived and they’d struck up an odd sort of friendship over a couple of drinks after the sixth time she’d visited the bar.

Or rather, Antonio noticed that anytime someone mentioned a problem player that needed to be dealt with in her vicinity, they’d mysteriously turn up dead or with a drastic personality change within a week. And after confronting her about it (and reassuring her repeatedly he wasn’t going to tell anyone) he’d offered to help funnel her information so people couldn’t put the pieces together like he had. 

It’s been a very beneficial arrangement thus far.

Antonio slides a fresh Long Island Iced Tea in front of her as she sits down (she hasn’t been able to so much as look at a Cuba Libre since Ava’s… departure) his smile dimmed slightly in a way that tells her immediately he has news and it’s not going to be good.

“Should I wait to ask until I’ve finished this?” She asks him in Spanish. It’s certainly not a foolproof way to keep eavesdroppers away, but it’s decent enough for their purpose. Antonio sighs and slings his hand towel over his shoulder and leans towards her as nonchalantly as possible. 

“Corner booth, far east side of the building,” his eyes dart in the opposite direction. “There are three men, very intoxicated. One of them let slip something about dealing with a traitor, a mole of some sort. They have tattoos on their arms, an upside-down cross with a sword through it.”

Beatrice curses under her breath. 

It’s new, something one of the remaining FBC goons had come up with, a symbol they could use to recognize one another. A “traitor” was likely some poor, possessed soul who’d been freed from his influence. Beatrice uses the various mirrors throughout the building to get a bead on the men Antonio’s referring to.

They do appear rather inebriated, which Beatrice takes as a good sign they’ll be easy to follow without them noticing her, even without her years of training. She nods, not taking her eyes off them as she responds.

“Clocked them, I’ll look into it. Thank you,” Beatrice takes a sip of her drink as Antonio nods and starts to move away before pausing and leaning back in, switching to English. 

“Also,” he says conversationally as if they weren’t talking about her vigilante work half a second ago. “Josh wants you to come over for dinner again soon, I think he enjoyed your nerd talk.” 

Joshua is Antonio’s boyfriend and is currently in university studying literature, giving the two of them plenty to talk about on the rare occasion she’s able to make time in her schedule to socialize with the pair outside of work. 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Beatrice chuckles. “Are you planning on making your Chile Relleno again? Because that might make me reconsider some of my other upcoming engagements.”

She’s teasing in part, but she's also playing the part of simply friends and not partners in crime. Antonio laughs, a loud boisterous thing that's full of life and makes Beatrice’s heart ache painfully at how similar it sounds to another bartender she knows.

Another reason Beatrice limits her outside-of-work time with him. He’s too much like Ava for her heart to handle at times.

“Well if a little bribe is all it takes then I’m sure I can make arrangements,” he winks playfully at her before another patron catches his attention with a wave. “Ah, duty calls. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

He taps the bar in front of her twice and waits for her to nod in acknowledgment before turning around to assist his other customers.

She won’t be staying long, now that she has a lead. Or rather, she’ll be busy ensuring that the men in the back don’t leave the dive without her noticing.

She makes a point over the next hour or so that they’re there to pass by them in the hopes of overhearing some tidbit of information. And while she doesn’t learn anything she hadn’t already learned from Antonio, she does catch sight of the tattoos he’s mentioned.

The sight of them makes her blood boil, but she takes a deep breath and forces herself to remain calm. No need to start something here when they can lead her to their higher-ups and the rest of their group of fanatics.

Besides, they aren’t directly responsible for what happened, just tricked by a devious con man masquerading as a god. Beatrice still plans to leave the lot of them six feet under. She can’t take any risks with the followers of Adriel after all, a violent fanatic is a violent fanatic and none of them are being possessed.

Finally, a little bit before 9pm they close out their tab at the bar and start to leave. Beatrice follows suit, giving Antonio enough cash to cover her own tab and then some before quietly moving to follow them.

It’s not difficult, given their state of intoxication they not only don’t notice their newly acquired shadow, but are extremely loud and boisterous as they stumble down the darkened streets, making keeping track of them fairly easy.

They take the subway to another part of the city, part that Beatrice is less than familiar with. It's a bit frustrating, it’s harder to follow someone through unfamiliar territory, but she is also really good at her job.

She’s not entirely sure where they’re going. Their path after getting off the subway meanders, and Beatrice groans under her breath as one of them slur something about not remembering how to get to their destination, the other two laughing and teasing him but not offering any clue as to where they’re headed.

Beatrice realizes they’re leading her into an ambush about ten seconds before it’s sprung.

It’s too late to back out, she clocks at least a dozen or so people in a single millisecond and she's already surrounded. Surrounded, and they have guns, unlike her who has nothing but her staff and her Divinium-imbued fists, for all the good they’ll do her against a foe not being possessed by a demon at present. 

“Onika Young,” a different individual says into the ether, confirming Beatrice’s suspicions as she tries to melt a little further into the shadows, hand going to the staff on her back, waiting. Their use of her alias instead of her actual name does little to calm her racing thoughts. “Or should I say, Sister Beatrice? We’ve been looking for you.”

Beatrice had already known this, of course. She regularly checks the Adriel-related subreddits, 4Chan accounts, and YouTube essays to follow their movements, on top of whatever Camila and Yasmine are doing back at the Cat’s Cradle.

The fact none of the three of them had picked up any chatter about this (because she knows her Sisters would have warned her if they knew) indicates this is likely a closed cell, strictly in person without an official online presence. 

Beatrice silently expands her staff to its full length as she draws it. 

“Kill the heretic, who helped the devil cast out our divine savior. In His name!”

“In His name!” The words echo around her from all sides.

It’s a hard fight. Being ambushed in the middle of the night by a dozen and a half (she’s officially counted now) armed and extremely angry men and women is difficult, even if she’s considerably more skilled than they are.

She drops into a fighting stance, instinct taking over as she rushes the first fanatic, disposing of him with a crack to his skull before moving on to her next opponents. 

Thankfully for her, they aren't entirely morally bankrupt. It becomes apparent almost immediately that they aren't willing to try to shoot at her while she’s engaged in melee with one of their comrades. A weakness she leverages to her advantage, always keeping at least one of them in melee range and forcing the others to rush into danger in order to engage.

The fight lasts for several minutes, until it’s just her and a man with a handgun remaining. 

He tries to shoot her, but she dodges and closes the distance between them in the time it takes to blink. She drops to the ground, taking him off guard as she sweeps his legs out from under him and knocks him to the ground.

She takes his pistol, and uses the final bullet between his eyes with a sigh. 

Beatrice, acting mostly on instinct, makes a cross over her front and mutters a quick prayer for their souls in spite of her own failing faith.

She goes to wipe away the sweat from her brow before noticing the still-warm blood seeping between her fingers. She tries to wipe it off as best she can on her pants, the realization she’ll now have to figure out how to get home while covered in blood causing her to groan under her breath.

She’s grateful at the very least that she’s wearing all black as opposed to any other color. 

Besides, she’s sure people on the subway have seen stranger, this is New York City after all.

Maybe this is worth calling Antonio for a pickup… just this once.

She’s so distracted trying to figure out how to get home and checking for any stragglers she may have missed that she almost doesn't notice the soft, barely there blue glow that’s slowly starting to fill the alleyway around her.

Almost.

She does notice it, however, and her eyes dart around the cramped space for any sign of its source.

It takes her a moment longer than she cares to admit for the pieces to click together, her body flooded with adrenaline and expecting danger, not a miracle.

But as she raises her fists to eye level there’s no mistaking the familiar blue shine emanating from what’s visible of the tattoo covering her arms and hands.

The Divinium embedded beneath her skin is reacting to being in close proximity to the Halo Bearer.

To Ava .

Beatrice collapses to her knees. Exhaustion from the fight mixed with the flood of emotions assaulting her at the realization that Ava’s returned (because somehow she knows, immediately, that this isn’t some other Halo Bearer) leaving her weak in the knees and unable to stand.

She keeps a white-knuckled grip on her staff, not because she’s expecting a fight, but rather to ground her and keep her from keeling over as Ava steps into view, standing at the very edge of the barely-there glow emanating from Beatrice, her features still obscured by shadow. 

Beatrice can just make out the outline of her smile, and everything in her posture and body language reads as relaxed, confident. 

Beatrice knows better, knows her crossed arms and half smile. Recognizes the nervousness hidden behind the actions and her heart aches. Her mind screams, desperate to speak but she can’t seem to formulate words as they stare at one another.

“Nice night for a walk, don’t you think?”

Beatrice laughs, soft and breathless.

“Ava.”

She says it like a prayer (and she would know) and Ava takes a couple of small, tentative steps forward. Her facial features are sharper now, older. A scar, new and unfamiliar, runs from right above her left eyebrow and down her cheek, and Beatrice aches with the knowledge she wasn’t there to protect her from whatever blow had caused it.

“You’re even more beautiful than I remember,” Ava breathes, and the words slam into Beatrice’s chest with the power of a thousand Halos, taking her breath away. Ava blushes and looks away like she hadn’t meant to say it out loud. “I-”

“I love you,” Beatrice cuts her off shakily, already fighting back tears as Ava’s eyes snap back up to meet hers. “I-I love you and I’m sorry I couldn’t tell y-” 

This time Ava cuts her off, closing the last couple of steps between them in a flash and dropping to one knee in front of her. Ava takes Beatrice’s face in her hands and pulls her forward, rendering the former nun speechless as Ava gently presses her lips against Beatrice’s forehead.

“I know,” Ava reassures her. “And I knew then.”

She gently traces her fingers over Beatrice’s cheek, her expression softening into something achingly familiar. Something Beatrice hadn’t been able or willing to put words to in the past, content to brush it aside for fear of upsetting the delicate balance between them.

But now? After watching Ava die multiple times and in multiple ways. After losing her, possibly forever to some hell portal to another dimension. After being given a second chance? Now Beatrice moves with purpose, hands shaky as she grabs Ava by the front of her armored shirt and pulls her into a kiss.

Ava freezes for half a second before shakily returning it. Her fingers trembling against Beatrice’s cheek as she pulls her in deeper, slanting her mouth over Beatrice’s and gently pulling her lower lip between her teeth, biting gently before pulling away, breathing much heavier than one would expect considering how short the kiss was.

Not that Beatrice has any room to judge, as she seems to have forgotten how to breathe entirely. Ava has stolen the air straight from her lungs despite Beatrice having been the one to initiate the kiss in the first place.

“You want to get out of here?” Ava asks, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Probably shouldn’t linger at the scene of the crime for too long,” she winks, causing Beatrice to blush and shove her shoulder half-heartedly. 

“Yes, let’s,” Beatrice shakily gets to her feet, Ava rising in time with her, and without actually saying a word they fall in together, Beatrice wrapping an arm around Ava’s shoulders while Ava’s snakes around her waist, familiar. Ava buries her face in the side of Beatrice’s neck and even though it makes walking slightly awkward, Beatrice wouldn't dream of complaining as Ava melts into her side.

“You still smell the same,” Ava breathes and if it were literally anyone else it would probably sound at least a little bit creepy, but with Ava all the comment does is cause a blush to rise to Beatrice’s face.

“Well, I haven’t changed shampoo or body wash so I suppose that makes sense,” Beatrice chuckles awkwardly and, following an instinct she wasn’t aware she had, leans down and kisses Ava’s temple, causing the shorter girl to smile as a blush makes its way onto her cheeks.

“Also,” Ava says, voice darkening mischievously. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you this but you’re glowing.”

Beatrice glares down at her, far too soft to have any bite behind it, and Ava giggles slightly as she tightens her grip around Beatrice’s waist, preemptively ensuring she won’t try to move away to escape the pun.

“Yes, well,” Beatrice stumbles over her words before remembering how to string them together again. “You have that effect on me.”

Ava stumbles slightly but not enough to throw off their rhythm, a bark of laughter escaping her as she leans up and presses a kiss against Beatrice’s cheek.

“Flirty Bea, I like it.”

-

Getting back to Beatrice’s hotel room is an adventure in and of itself, considering Beatrice is covered in blood and Ava doesn't have so much as a wallet on her. Ava’s only worldly possessions are the clothes on her back, which are quickly also becoming bloodstained due to how tightly she's clinging to Beatrice as they walk.

The reason becomes clear as they talk, catching each other up on the events that have transpired during their time apart.

3 months for Beatrice, nearly 7 years for Ava.

I thought about you every day. Ava had whispered against her shoulder. When there was nothing I could do but lay there in the void while my body spent years trying to stitch itself back together, it was the memory of your voice that tied my sanity together.

It would be sweet if it hadn’t made her heart split in two. The thought of Ava, forced to spend seven years living out her worst nightmare… perhaps the other side really is Hell after all, and there’s no actual Heaven to speak of, only the one you make on Earth.

Beatrice held her closer, apologizing over and over again for not going with her all while pressing kisses against the top of her head.

You did the right thing. Ava had breathed. I told you to go live your life and you did, though I’ll admit this wasn’t quite what I’d imagined you'd be doing. Besides, I was unconscious for months at a time. You’d have been bored as fuck even if you could have come with me.

It wouldn't have mattered to Beatrice, but she lets it go. No need to start even a light argument over meaningless what-ifs when Ava is finally standing beside her again.

They stumble into the hotel room just after midnight but despite the late hour, Beatrice feels completely awake, though that's likely in part due to the odd hours she keeps.

Ava pulls her into another kiss the second the door closes behind her. There's no heat behind it and when she steps back a second later she’s all soft smiles and lingering warmth. Ava reaches up and touches her cheek, running her fingers down to trace her jawline before pulling away fully.

“You need a shower,” Ava chuckles. “I think there’s more blood on you than what’s supposed to be inside a fully grown man.”

“And it’s dried,” Beatrice admits, pulling at her hair and glaring at it like it’s at fault for being caked in blood. Despite that, she hesitates. Lingers at the door simply staring at Ava, the idea of letting the other woman out of her sight not exactly appealing. Ava seems to come to the same conclusion seconds later, her eyebrows scrunching together adorably in something resembling annoyance. Or fear, it can admittedly be a bit hard to tell what Ava’s feeling sometimes when she won’t look her in the eyes.

Beatrice steels herself, takes a deep breath and for the first time makes the first move in moving their… whatever’s happening between them forward (she makes a mental note to clarify the nature of their relationship with Ava at the next appropriate opportunity… which is not right now).

“Why don’t you come with and wash the blood out of our clothes in the sink while I’m showering,” it’s a horrible idea, both for Beatrice’s sanity and for not getting blasted with ridiculously hot water while running the shower and sink simultaneously, but some minor burns seem like a small price to pay to keep Ava in the same room as her.

And, if she’s being honest with herself, her sanity went out the window ages ago when it comes to Ava.

Ava immediately brightens at the suggestion, shoving Beatrice’s reservations to the backburner as she nods happily. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Good,” Beatrice nods, mostly to herself, and glances across the room to her suitcases, which are leaning up against the wall, still fully packed in case she has to make a quick escape. “Can you grab the silver suitcase and put it on the bed? We’ll need clothes to change into but,” she gestures to herself, and Ava nods.

“On it boss,” Ava winks, walking up to the aforementioned suitcase and dragging it onto the bed, careful not to get any blood on it or the bedding, which Beatrice is grateful for. 

“Left side, your other left, yes. Can you grab the red set for me? Grab whatever you’ll find most comfortable to sleep in for yourself.”

Ava drags the requested items out of the suitcase, unfolding and looking them over critically instead of finding something for herself.

“Bea, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’ve never seen fucking velvet and lace pajamas that look so unsexy.”

Beatrice stammers, words escaping her momentarily as her face erupts in flames. “Well I wasn’t exactly trying to impress anyone, now was I?”

That, it seems, is both the best and worst response she could have given. 

Best, because Ava’s face splits into a cocky grin at that, her eyes lighting up mischievously, just barely failing to mask the soft, hopeful expression hidden underneath.

Worst, because she can feel the vulnerability, the genuineness behind the words she says, and honestly, Beatrice would feel a little offended if she didn't know what Ava had gone through during their time apart… and before they met, since she's being honest.

“So, no hot New York ladies catching your attention?”

“Not one,” Beatrice says, softly but confidently. “It would take far, far longer than 3 months for me to fall out of love with you.”

“Yeah?”

Quiet. Hopeful.

“Of course,” Beatrice takes a step forward into Ava’s space and presses a kiss to her forehead, taking a page out of one of her own late-night fantasies as her fingers come up to dance along the underside of Ava’s jaw.“I’d have waited a hundred years if that’s what it took to have one last day with you.”

Ava gasps, her breathing suddenly shaky and she collapses against Beatrice with a sob, burying her face in Beatrice’s chest. Beatrice wraps her arms around the smaller woman and holds her tight, pressing a kiss against her temple. 

It's strangely comforting, cradling the gently sobbing woman against her chest. Grounding and real in a sense. Ava clings to the front of her shirt and sniffles like she's trying to force herself to stop. Beatrice runs her fingers soothingly through her hair.

“I don’t want this to be another dream.”

It mirrors a fear Beatrice has been secretly harboring ever since Ava appeared before her only a couple of hours ago. But hearing the broken sob coming from the woman she loves breaks something in Beatrice’s heart, and her own fears melt away as she pulls Ava closer still.

“It’s not, Love,” Beatrice reassures her, the term of endearment slipping out without her meaning for it to. “And if it is then fuck it, I’m going back to Madrid as soon as I wake up and going through that portal to get you myself.”

Ava laughs at this, sniffing slightly as she pulls back. Looking uncharacteristically bashful as she refuses to meet Beatrice’s gaze. “Sorry, I think I got snot on your shirt.”

It feels like such a ridiculous thing to think about, given the circumstances, and Beatrice can’t help the fond laugh that escapes through her teeth, recognizing and allowing Ava to divert the subject without a fight.

“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing you’re about to wash it then… but I’m also covered in blood right now, so…” 

She lets the sentence hang there for a moment before Ava laughs, wiping her tears away with the back of her arm. “That’s fair.”

“It is,” Beatrice chuckles lightly. “Now let's hurry up, I rather tire of feeling like a stiff board I must say.”

“Okay, okay,” Ava laughs, still a bit wetly, and grabs Beatrice’s pajamas and something for herself before trudging over to the bathroom behind Beatrice. “I’ll take your clothes once you’re in the shower and give you your pajamas once you’re done so they won’t get wet or bloody.”

Beatrice nods, stepping into the shower and grabbing one of the worn, off-white washcloths, and tossing it onto the vanity beside Ava. “For anything not on your clothes,” she explains before Ava can ask.

“Good thinking,” Ava nods, already starting to remove her jacket and Beatrice panics, yanking the curtain closed so hard it overshoots and the entire curtain just ends up on the other side of the tub.

Ava pauses, jacket only halfway removed as she looks up at Beatrice’s rapidly reddening face. A grin rapidly spreading across her own. 

“Come on, Bea. You’ve seen me naked before, my shoulders aren’t that sexy,” Ava wiggles her eyebrows at her and Beatrice manages to successfully yank the curtain closed this time.

“That was an accident and you know it,” Beatrice stammers, leaning down to remove her combat boots and socks in a quick, practiced motion.

“You spent a solid ten seconds with your jaw on the floor staring at my tits and then refused to be in the same room as me for three days without at least one other person and ten feet of space between us.”

“Shut up,” Beatrice throws one of her boots at Ava. It bounces harmlessly off the wall behind her as she resolidifies with a smirk.

“Okay, okay, Sister Bossy,” Ava teases, hands held up in surrender as Beatrice ducks back behind the curtain and begins the somewhat complicated process of removing her clothes/armor.

“Not a Sister anymore,” Beatrice huffs as she forcefully yanks her shirt off, the blood making it stick uncomfortably to her flesh as she tries to peel it off with little to no grace. There’s a pause from the other side of the curtain that Beatrice doesn’t think much of until Ava speaks again.

“You aren’t?” She sounds surprised and more than a little confused and Beatrice shrugs before remembering Ava (thankfully) can’t see her right now as she peels her bra off.

“No, I… renounced my vows after you… left,” Beatrice sighs. “I’ll help fight, I have a similar situation in place to what Mary did, actually. But, after everything that’s happened, I no longer beileve. You can’t really be a nun and no longer believe in the church or what it stands for.”

There’s another pause.

“I suppose that’s fair,” she can almost feel Ava shrug as she says it. “Also explains so much about the situation I found you in.”

“Well, to be fair that actually does stem from my work with the OCS,” Beatrice finally manages to successfully tear off her pants and lets them drop into the tub with a wet thump . “Not all of Adriel’s followers followed him against their will. Thankfully, most of what remains of the FBC is scattered and in disarray for the moment, however, some groups like that one are somewhat more organized and coming for those of us who had a hand in his defeat. Our names and faces are all over their so-called private servers and such. Honestly, it’s probably a miracle you didn’t have any run-ins with any of them before now since you’re the one whose head they want the most.”

“Is it bad I can’t tell if you mean that metaphorically or not?” Ava chuckles darkly as she moves over to the shower where Beatrice is holding out her clothes for her to take. 

“Given our lives? Not really,” Beatrice finally turns the water on, standing out of the way of the stream until it has heated up enough to be bearable. “But they do want all of us dead. And to make matters more… interesting, I suppose. Intel suggests Lilith is trying to consolidate power and get them to work for her. It still remains to be seen if she’s intending to fight against us or not.Beatrice steps under the water, her back to the stream and lets it flow through her hair and down her back, not properly washing it yet, just enjoying the feeling of the hot water on her skin. Her tattoos glow a little brighter at the mention of Lilith and she looks to where Ava’s standing, concerned.

“I don’t even know where to start with her,” Ava says, her voice conveying her conflicting emotions. “It’d probably help if I understood what the fuck is actually happening.”

The bitterness feels off, like Ava doesn’t know how to handle its existence and she finally just sighs and turns the faucet on, Beatrice waits for a moment and is relieved that the shower only gets marginally hotter.

“We’ll figure it out, together, alright?” Beatrice tries to reassure her. Ava pauses, all movement ceasing on the other side.

“I know, I’m sorry I’m just… frustrated,” Ava sighs. “Maybe we can just… not talk about anything related to demons or wars or the church. At least for the weekend? I just want to spend some time with you without it feeling like the world’s on fire for once.”

There’s a hint of self-loathing in that statement, and Beatrice can’t help but wonder what all Ava had spent her time mulling over on the other side.

“That would be nice,” Beatrice sighs softly. “I’ve missed you a great deal, even if it’s only been three months for me.”

“I’m glad it was only three months for you,” Ava sighs. “I know it's a little selfish but-”

“Don’t do that, Ava,” Beatrice cuts her off, keeping her voice soft and level so Ava knows she’s not upset with her. “You’ve more than earned the right to a little selfishness, and I’m sorry for my part in you now believing otherwise.”

“You weren’t wrong.”

“And neither were you, I just… realized that there had to be another way far too late.”

Ava takes an audible deep breath.

“What happened wasn’t your fault,” Ava says, somehow cutting to the core of the issue and completely turning the conversation around on Beatrice.

“We’re doing a really bad job of not talking about everything,” Beatrice tried to deflect.

“Well, we’ll not talk about it after this, it’s important.”

A second passes. Two.

Beatrice roughly works shampoo into her hair, eyes stinging slightly as the memories she’s spent months trying to suppress spring to the forefront of her mind.

“It’s my duty to keep you safe, both as a… former Sister Warrior and as someone who loves you deeply and I failed miserably.”

“I’m alive, aren’t I?” Ava asks gently.

“No thanks to me,” Beatrice responds bitterly.

“Beatrice,” Ava sighs, her voice deepening, sounding older somehow. “I made my choice and despite that you still came after me, knowing we’d both die facing Adriel. And if you hadn’t, I would probably actually be dead, because I seriously doubt Lilith would have bothered dragging my dying body over to the arc on her own.”

“All I did was shove you through a portal to another dimension and force you to spend seven years living out your worst fear,” Beatrice turns the water off, finally finishing rinsing the blood off her body and out of her hair, but not off her soul. 

Ava doesn’t respond as Beatrice towels herself off, but when she turns to ask Ava for her clothes she finds that Ava’s already moved over to her and pushed the curtain aside just enough to wordlessly hand her her pajamas.

Beatrice tugs them on and slowly opens the curtain to find Ava standing there, changed into a pair of Beatrice’s shorts and one of her holey, oversized t-shirts that she definitely hadn’t stolen from Ava’s room before leaving Spain.

Beatrice steps out of the shower and Ava immediately steps forward and drags Beatrice into her arms. Ava kisses the side of her head, encouraging Beatrice to bury her face in her neck with a hand on the back of Beatrice’s head.

Beatrice falls into her willingly, wraps her arms around Ava’s waist, and allows herself to hold and be held. She kisses Ava’s collarbone, the closest thing to her mouth, and Ava shivers slightly.

“You kept me alive, despite my best efforts,” Ava says, something in her voice informing Beatrice this isn’t a fight she’s going to be able to win. “That’s all that matters in the end. I’m here and alive and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Okay,” Beatrice breathes, too exhausted by the day’s events to continue arguing. “Okay.”

“Good,” Ava yawns, kissing Beatrice on the cheek before pulling away entirely. “Now I don’t know about you but I’m kind of exhausted and could use a nice long nap, maybe eight or so hours long?”

Beatrice rolls her eyes and nods. She feels like she could stay up another 24 hours on adrenaline alone, but she doesn’t tell Ava that. Instead, she allows herself to take Ava’s hand in hers and leads her back into the main room. 

“I should warn you, the window next to the bed doesn't shut properly, and it gets rather cold as the night goes on.”

“Hmm, if only there was a cute girl I could cuddle with for warmth around here.”

“I’m certain you could find one at the bar down the street,” Beatrice responds, face heating up as Ava groans and drapes herself dramatically over Beatrice’s back and shoulders.

“Bea, I’m flirting with you,” Ava pouts.

“I know, I’m teasing you,” Beatrice leans back and kisses Ava on the cheek. “Go ahead and get ready for bed. I need to do a perimeter check first.”

“You and your perimeter checks,” Ava grumbles, half teasing though Beatrice can feel rather than see the uneasy set to her shoulders at the thought.

“I’ll only be gone for five minutes, I promise.”

“Okay, okay, go. I’ll somehow keep myself entertained,” Ava flops dramatically back onto the bed and Beatrice rolls her eyes at her fondly as Ava immediately wraps herself up in the comforter with a sigh. “Hell yeah, you brought the rich person sheets!”

“They’re not… fine, I’ll be right back,” Beatrice grabs the key to the room and throws on her jacket. She tucks the keys securely into her pocket, already deciding to let this ongoing argument go for the night. 

It’s not her fault that she prefers a higher thread count than most people. 

Ava’s fading laughter keeps her company as she makes her rounds. She has to force herself to be slow and diligent as she stalks around the block once, twice, and a third time for good measure. As much as she wants to curl up next to Ava and sleep, she also doesn’t want to get ambushed twice in one night.

When she slips back into the room exactly five minutes later, Ava has Beatrice’s phone in her hand and is in the middle of an intense game of Angry Birds, if Beatrice places the game sounds correctly. 

She’s now extremely glad she didn’t delete Ava’s little collection of games off her phone.

“Perimeter secure,” Beatrice announces quietly as she shuts the door and Ava’s head immediately shoots up, a wide smile overtaking her face. 

“You’re so cute when you say things like that,” Ava mutters under her breath, staring directly at Beatrice who nearly trips over the doormat as heat overtakes her face. 

“What?” 

“What?” Ava smirks.

“You can’t just keep saying things like that,” Beatrice drops the keys into the bowl she’s been using for them and hangs her jacket up on its hook. She makes a mental note to get Ava some new clothes, something about the empty hook beside her own making the gaping hole where Ava’s jacket should go (will go) all the more apparent.

“Come on, I spent years coming up with these lines,” Ava teases, though Beatrice can feel the thread of truth tying her words together. Beatrice moves over to the bed and gingerly lowers herself onto her side of it, which Ava had somehow been able to remember after seven years. Once she’s comfortable Ava scoots closer until their sides are pressed together and leans her head against Beatrice’s shoulder. “I missed you.”

Beatrice frees her arm and wraps it securely around Ava’s shoulders, before pulling her a little closer and leaning down to kiss her cheek. “I missed you too.”

Ava buries herself a little deeper in Beatrice’s side and Beatrice reaches over and gently plucks her phone out of Ava’s hand and puts it on the charger. Ava chuckles and wraps both her arms around Beatrice, one resting comfortably across her waist while the other snakes beneath her pillow. It’s a testament to how tired she is that she doesn’t try to convince Beatrice to let her finish her level first.

“Get some rest, we’ll have time to talk more in the morning.”

Ava nods and yawns into Beatrice’s shoulder.

“Goodnight, I love you.”

Beatrice takes in a deep breath.

“I love you too.”

-

Beatrice’s morning routine is fairly simple and one she’s maintained in at least some capacity since she was 11 years old. 

She starts the day with a run followed by some light training. Then she has a simple breakfast with a mug of tea while reading the news on her phone (like a typical millennial). After that is an intense hour of meditation (replacing what used to be an hour of prayer) by which time it’s just reached 7am and she’s fully prepared to tackle the day.

Which is why it’s particularly disorienting for her to wake up abruptly from a dead sleep at 11:37am. Which is made worse by the frantic banging against the front door. 

“What the fuck is that?” Ava grumbles, annoyed into her chest and Beatrice is too busy trying to assess the current threat level to properly appreciate the fact that Ava is here and in her bed which is a real fucking shame because Ava looks adorable when she's waking up in the morning.

Beatrice kisses the top of Ava’s head and extracts herself from the comforter with a violent tremble. The cold air assaulting her as soon as she slides out of bed. 

She tiptoes over to the door, grabs her handgun off the table as she does so, and peeks out the peephole, only for all the tension to flood out of her body, mild annoyance replacing the alertness that had overtaken her.

She flings the door open.

“You’re alive!” Antonio shouts, wincing and lowering his voice before continuing. “I didn't hear back from you last night and I saw the massacre all over the news. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Toni,” Beatrice sighs, leaning against the doorframe. “It was an ambush, some… people from my past I wasn't aware were after me, it’s been taken care of.”

It's only half true, but their friendship is formed on half-truths and almost lies. Given the nature of the work they do, it’s easier that way and they both know it.

“Oh, good,” Antonio sighs, relieved. “I’d hate to need to get a new partner,” he winks and Beatrice rolls her eyes fondly.

“Our partnership is perfectly intact, I appreciate you taking the time to-” Beatrice cuts herself off, face already beginning to flush as Ava walks up behind her, still wrapped in the comforter, and wraps her arms around Beatrice’s waist. Beatrice shivers, though she can’t tell if it’s from the cold or Ava’s touch. Antonio raises an eyebrow at her.

“Shh, is’ to early to talk shop,” Ava grumbles into the space between Beatrice’s shoulder blades, nuzzling her nose into the fabric of Beatrice’s pajamas. 

“Go back to bed, Love. I’ll be with you in a second,” Beatrice leans back and kisses Ava on the cheek, only instead of encouraging her back into the hotel room all it does is make Ava melt further into her back, the shorter woman’s arms coming up to wrap the comforter snugly around Beatrice’s waist.

“Is’ okay, I’ll wait here,” Ava yawns loudly. “Wanna meet your friend.”

Antonio and Beatrice look at each other wide-eyed and in differing states of panic. Sure, Antonio has teased and hinted that he’s interested in learning more about her since she’s been playing up the whole mysterious angle in an attempt to maintain some sense of anonymity. It’s not quite the same thing as seeing said person in their pajamas with a significant other you didn’t know about the existence of.

“Ava,” Beatrice starts, trying to keep her voice level. “This is Antonio. Antonio, Ava.” 

Ava rests her chin on Beatrice’s shoulder and gives Antonio a smile and a wave, which he returns, seemingly already charmed by all of Ava’s Avaness just like so many people before him.

“Pleasure,” he greets Ava before turning back to Beatrice. “Clearly you’re… occupied. Text me when you’re free? You still owe us lunch.” 

“I will, just don’t expect to hear anything until Monday at the earliest.”

Antonio chuckles, glancing between her and Ava and then back again. “Read you loud and clear boss lady. You know where to find me. Should I give you a heads up if anything big happens?”

“Of course,” Beatrice nods. “You have my number.”

“Have a good rest of your day Beatrice. Ava,” he nods to both of them in turn and takes a step back as Beatrice gently closes the door, fingers automatically moving through the locks as Ava’s freezing fingers dip under the hem of Beatrice’s sleep shirt, causing her to shiver from the sudden cold against her stomach.

“How are you so cold already? You’ve only been out of bed for a couple of minutes,” Beatrice chuckles lightly and spins around in Ava’s arms to wrap her own around Ava’s neck. Ava buries her face in Beatrice’s chest, her nose cold as ice against her clavicle. 

“You made a friend,” Ava responds sleepily. “I’m glad, he seems nice.”

“I’m surprised, you didn’t exactly like me making friends when we were in Switzerland,” Beatrice says, it’s teasing yes, but also the truth. Ava didn’t really like her hanging out with other people in the Alps.

“That’s not true,” Ava chuckles and pulls back just enough for Beatrice to see her face. “I just didn’t like you making friends with girls that were hitting on you, you were just too oblivious to realize it.” 

“W-what? That’s not even remotely…” 

“First was Tabitha, that blonde girl from the states that spent an entire hour drooling over your biceps.”

“She was cheering for me in an arm wrestling match you made me do.”

“Then there was Cathleen, the girl with like seventeen tattoos from South Africa who spent an entire shift staring at your tits while you rambled on about The House in the Cerulean Sea . Which let me tell you, as someone who has also tried to pull that off, is very hard to do with your clothing choices.” 

“What?” 

“And then there was Sarah and Yue…” 

“You don’t need to remind me,” Beatrice cuts Ava off, already knowing where this story goes. It’s one of the only times Ava ever had to get involved because someone was overstepping Beatrice’s boundaries at work rather than the other way around.

“There are more,” Ava smirks and Beatrice rolls her eyes, forced to look away.

“How do you even remember their names? I can’t even remember most of their faces.”

“I want to say my memory is just that good, but honestly I ended up like… reliving Switzerland? A lot? It was like groundhogs day, kinda. But for the whole two months we were there.” 

“In a mentally replaying the memories sort of way or a time travel sort of way?” Beatrice asks, all thoughts on hold as she considers the possibilities. 

“I’m pretty sure it was all in my head? But I could change things? Honestly, it’s just one of the things that happened over there that I don’t completely understand. But unlike some of the other stuff, it was nice so I wasn’t exactly going to complain.”

“Fair enough,” Beatrice leans down and kisses Ava’s forehead. “I’m going to have so many questions when our no talking about work time is up.”

“Same,” Ava chuckles. “But for now… showers and breakfast? I don’t know about you but I haven’t been able to shower in seven years so…” 

“That is definitely not relatable,” Beatrice shakes her head. “I took one last night. Why don’t you take one and I’ll find somewhere to run and get us breakfast.”

“You’re so efficient, it's kinda hot,” Ava teases with a wink. Unlike when Antonio does it, however, Beatrice feels her cheeks flush with heat as she rolls her eyes. 

“Go take your shower,” Beatrice gently pushes Ava in the direction of the bathroom and extracts herself from the warmth of her arms (and the damn comforter) to walk over to her suitcase and drag it onto the bed to get changed. “You can grab something to wear out of here when you’re done. We’ll go shopping and get you some clothes tomorrow after we’ve had a chance to rest for a bit.”

“And so you can see me in your clothes the rest of the day?” Ava asks from the entrance to the bathroom. Beatrice pretends to think about it for a second.

“I suppose that’s an added benefit, yes.” 

Ava’s still cackling when Beatrice leaves ten minutes later.

-

Beatrice finds herself curled up in Ava’s arms, watching YouTube on her phone in the dark after breakfast. Ava had drawn the thick curtains over the windows and turned off most of the lights except for the glow of Beatrice’s tattoos and the little nightlight Beatrice carries around as a safety precaution because Ava’s a walking tripping hazard. 

She has her face buried in Ava’s neck and she has Ava’s shirt (one of her own, of course) fisted tightly in her fingers. She doesn’t want to say she’s clinging per se, but it would likely be an apt description of what she’s been doing while Ava “catches up” on whatever YouTuber’s content she’s watching.

Beatrice stopped paying attention about fifteen seconds into the first video when she became distracted by the gentle thrum of Ava’s heartbeat against her ear. Loud. Thunderous. Healthy.

Alive.

Beatrice leans up and kisses the underside of Ava’s jaw and without breaking eye contact with the phone, Ava leans down and presses a kiss against Beatrice’s forehead. It’s incredibly domestic and Beatrice pauses, the thought taking up the entirety of her brain space for several minutes as she rolls the thought around her head.

“Ava, may we speak?” 

If the look Ava gives her is any indication, her sudden nerves are poorly concealed. 

“Sure,” she pauses the video, which somehow makes it feel even more real for Beatrice, who swallows nervously.

“I know this may not be the best time,” or rather, she knows that she’d prefer to put far more effort into this, to make it special in some way but she doesn’t have the patience or energy for that right now and she’s loathe to wait. “But… I thought it might do us some good to clarify the nature of our relationship going forward.”

There are a million ways Ava could react. Snorting loudly and then kissing Beatrice on the cheek was not one of the million Beatrice had considered.

“Is that your way of trying to ask me to go out with you?” 

“This is me asking if you would like to join into a mutually benef… yes I’m trying to ask you out,” Beatrice finally concedes, curling further into Ava's body and hiding her extremely red face in the crook of Ava’s neck.

“No, no, come here, don’t hide from me,” Ava laughs, gently peeling Beatrice away so she can look her in the eyes. “I would absolutely love to go out with you, in fact,” Ava smirks in a familiar, teasing way. The soft, dare she say loving crinkle to her eyes softening any residual anxiety clinging to the recesses of her mind. “I’d be down to skip going out and just jump straight into the relationship part. One-time offer though, otherwise you’ll have to seduce me.” 

Ava winks, not even able to try to hide the giggles boiling up to the surface as Beatrice stammers and trips over her response before finally finding her voice again. “I suppose that would be acceptable.” 

“Way to sound excited,” Ava deadpans, her smile still firmly affixed to her face.

“ Ava ,” Beatrice groans, trying and failing to hide under the covers. Failing because her… Ava has super strength and is holding the comforter down with ease.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Ava gently pulls her back down so she’s resting in the same position she’d been in when the conversation started. Nose buried in Ava’s chest, fingers clutching her tanktop, though not as tightly. “I know this stuff is hard for you and I’m really proud of how far you’ve come.”

Warmth spreads through Beatrice’s entire body and she feels a content blush overtake her face and ears as Ava leans down and for only the third time, presses a soft, tender kiss against her lips. Beatrice smiles and reaches her fingers up to brush the hair out of Ava’s eyes.

“Just to be completely clear,” Beatrice starts, her own voice sounding far softer than she can ever remember it being, even as Ava laughs and kisses her temple. “Is the title girlfriend appropriate? And can I call you mine in public? I’m not clear where your comfort level is with public displays of affection with a… significant other?”

Ava chuckles, a little awkwardly and with the lack of light, it takes Beatrice a moment to realize that Ava’s now the one blushing. 

“Uh, yeah. I mean, you can definitely call me your girlfriend whenever you like, I don’t give a fuck,” Ava blows a bit of hair out of her face and Beatrice makes a mental note to see if she wants or needs a haircut while they’re out tomorrow as well. “And you know me, I highly doubt we’re ever going to come close to leaving my comfort zone in terms of PDA.”

Beatrice nods, settling down fully now that the last of her questions (at least in terms of their relationship) have been answered. Ava, strangely, doesn't go back to watching her videos and lets the phone turn off naturally. Instead, her fingers gently card through Beatrice’s hair and though she’s closed her eyes and is allowing herself to simply bask in the moment, she can feel Ava’s eyes on her. 

“Can I help you, Love?” She finally asks after several minutes of silence and she can’t help but quietly delight in the way Ava shudders against her at the words. 

“You can keep calling me that,” Ava says, it’s clear she’s trying to make it sound like a joke but it comes out a little too breathless for that. Beatrice hums in response.

“Love?”

“Yeah,” Ava, well there’s no other way to describe what Ava does other than wiggles in delight before kissing Beatrice on the cheek. 

“Very well, but that still doesn’t explain why you were staring at me,” Beatrice says, cracking open an eye to look up at Ava.

“What? Maybe I just want to stare at my extremely beautiful girlfriend while I can, hmm?” It’s light, almost everything that pours out of Ava’s mouth is. But Beatrice knows Ava and catches the meaning, the weight behind her words.

It can be easy sometimes, so forget just how deeply scarred the other woman is. Even before being sent to another dimension for years to heal from fatal injuries. It’s hard for Ava to show those parts of herself, as Beatrice had learned well during their stay in the Alps. Because what so few people seem to realize, at least outside of their inner circle, is just how much pain Ava is masking with her constant cheeriness and happy-go-lucky attitude. 

It was a shield long before it was her . 

They’re already lying down, so it’s easy for Beatrice to gently roll onto her stomach to hover over Ava, temporarily stunning the woman into silence while Beatrice adjusts and gets comfortable, throwing a leg over both of Ava’s in a way she knows Ava finds comforting. 

Beatrice leans up just enough that she and Ava can see each other's eyes and she has to force herself to take a calming breath before continuing because Ava looks unfairly pretty staring up at her from Beatrice’s pillow. 

“There isn’t a single place, in this realm or the next, that I won’t follow you,” Beatrice moves all her weight to one arm to free her hand to reach up and softly run her finger along the side of Ava’s jawline. “From here on, wherever you are, I will remain by your side.”

“I might end up in some rough places,” Ava chuckles wetly, pointedly staring at a spot over Beatrice’s shoulder, all bravado fading away.

“Then to Hell’s Doors with us,” Beatrice shrugs. Ava looks at her like she personally hung the stars in the sky. “But I intend to have you. In this life and the next.”

Ava inhales sharply and even with the limited light, Beatrice can see her eyes getting a little glassy. “Fuck… guess I’m stuck with you then, huh?” 

Beatrice wipes away the tear that slowly trails down the side of Ava’s face.

“You will never escape me again.”

She means for it to come out light and maybe a little on the teasing side, but instead, it’s beyond soft and dripping heavy with barely suppressed emotion. 

“Is that a threat?” Ava laughs breathlessly.

“No,” Beatrice leans down and kisses Ava’s forehead. “That’s a promise.”

Ava stares up at her, long and hard just long enough for her to start worrying she said something wrong when Ava reaches up with both hands and carefully takes Beatrice’s face in between them, holding her gently. 

“I would really like to kiss you right now.” 

Beatrice smiles, and presses her free hand against the back of one of Ava’s, holding her there.

“Then why don’t you?” 

Ava kisses her for only the third time and it’s immediately different from the other kisses they’ve shared.

Ava pulls her in and kisses her softly. Once. Twice. Three times before lingering, her lips pressing firmly against Beatrice’s and moving , pulling Beatrice’s bottom lip between hers for a moment, holding her there for a long moment before breaking away. 

This time, Beatrice follows her.

Before Ava can even rest her head back against the pillow, Beatrice chases her lips, reconnecting them with a soft sigh of relief. Her fingers finding their home in the hair along the back of Ava’s neck.

Ava moves then without warning, wrapping her arms around Beatrice's waist and flipping them over with a move that Beatrice had taught her all those months ago in Switzerland.

Beatrice would correct her form, but she’s too flustered by the unexpected move to even notice the minor errors in her technique.

Ava settles on top of her with a small, content smile and leans in to kiss her, this time harder and without further preamble. 

Ava’s fingers curl under her chin and gently tilt her head up, humming in approval as Beatrice follows her lead and deepens the kiss. Beatrice wraps her arms around Ava’s neck, content to let the younger girl take the lead for now. 

“Wait,” Beatrice pulls back, eyes wide as a thought suddenly hits her. “If you were gone for seven years on your side, does that make you older than me now?”

Ava, who’d frozen the second Beatrice said wait , snorts and shakes her head as she laughs, body unfreezing. Beatrice realizes instantly that this is perhaps not the best time and throws an arm over her eyes with a groan.

“Well, one… yes, I’m definitely older than you now. I’m 26 and you're 24 so it maths out,” she can’t see it on account of having her eyes covered, but she can feel Ava shrug. “And two… clearly I need to step up my game if you’re able to still do math while I’m trying to make out with you.” 

“Ava!” Beatrice is glad her eyes are covered because she’s not sure she could handle seeing Ava on top of listening to her say that all… seductress-y in her ear.

“Yes, dear?” Ava’s voice is gentle and teasing as she pulls Beatrice’s arm away from her face, bringing her knuckles to her lips and taking the time to press a kiss against each one individually all while maintaining eye contact with Beatrice the entire time.

“Fine, I surrender, do what you will,” Beatrice groans, sinking further into the mattress and causing Ava to laugh and drop her hand back to her side so Ava can lean over her again.

“You are so dramatic,” Ava chuckles. She leans down and brushes her lips against Beatrice’s again but doesn’t linger. 

Beatrice realizes what she’s planning about half a second before Ava’s lips press lightly against her pulse point and Beatrice sinks into it instantly. She tilts her head to the side, giving Ava more space to work with just as Ava’s tongue comes into the picture, licking a line up the side of her neck, following the vein and it has no right being as hot as it is.

Beatrice lets out a shaky breath, trying to get her breathing, heart rate, or any other general bodily functions back under control and failing miserably. 

Ava slowly, softly pulls Beatrice’s skin between her teeth, the gentle suction causing Beatrice to let out a soft, barely contained moan. Ava reaches down with the hand not cradling Beatrice’s face and intertwines their fingers, holding her hand as Ava pulls away, inspecting her work.

“Shouldn’t bruise,” she comments quietly, almost to herself, her thumb brushing over the spot she’d just been latched onto. 

It hadn’t even occurred to Beatrice to be worried about her leaving marks. She supposes it’s a testament to how far she’s come since first meeting Ava.

“You can,” Beatrice says into the space between them, causing Ava to pause. “Leave ones that will remain, I mean.”

“You sure?” Ava asks, her thumb continuing to gently travel up and down the side of her throat. 

“Fair’s fair,” Beatrice has to stop herself from laughing at the confusion that quickly makes its way onto Ava’s face. “Or rather, it will be once I get my hands on you later.”

Ava’s eyes widen marginally before she laughs, eyes crinkling happily as Beatrice leans up and kisses her on the cheek. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“Good,” Beatrice nods, laying back down. 

“You’re so…” Ava’s sentence devolves into nonsense almost immediately as she gestures down at her. “I love you so much, which is maybe weird to say since we literally just got together but…”

Beatrice leans up and cuts Ava off with a hard kiss, dragging her down on top of her with a huff. Ava laughs when she’s released and kisses the tip of Beatrice’s nose. 

Beatrice doesn’t get the chance to respond before Ava dips down and gently presses her lips against the other side of Beatrice’s neck. 

Ava pulls Beatrice’s flesh between her teeth and sucks, gentle at first but with growing pressure as she carefully sucks a mark onto the side of Beatrice’s neck. 

Beatrice manages to keep the worst of her reactions internalized, but even she can’t prevent the heavy breathing or the soft moans slowly filling the bedroom.

Ava finishes and pulls away to inspect her work with a smug grin. Unlike what Beatrice had assumed would happen, Ava dives back in, latching onto another, unmarred portion of her neck and repeating her tender ministrations.

Beatrice isn’t sure she’ll survive and that’s before Ava moves, and suddenly one of Ava’s legs slides between her own, muscular thigh pressing against Beatrice’s core and Beatrice forgets how to breathe.

“ Ava ,” her voice cracks, fingers tangling in Ava’s hair.

Ava pulls back, smirking and biting her lip, looking far too proud of herself as her eyes trace over Beatrice’s kiss-swollen lips and disheveled appearance. “So… how do you find the circumference of a circle?” 

“It depends on if you have the radius or diameter,” Beatrice responds instinctively, brain lagging several seconds behind as Ava laughs, and Beatrice is grateful that Ava at the very least doesn’t seem offended by how hard it is to throw her off. 

“Nerd,” Ava says, affection dripping from the word. 

“You love it.”

“I do.”

Ava leans back down and kisses Beatrice again, soft and sweet on the lips. Ava takes a moment to readjust, lets go of Beatrice’s hand and instead snakes her arm behind her neck to pull her closer. 

Then her newly freed hand starts exploring, innocently tracing the lines of Beatrice’s face, down her neck and arms. Until her fingers are dancing at the hem of Beatrice’s jumper, unwilling to take the final plunge. 

Beatrice, acting on her freshly (re?)discovered gay impulses, reaches down with urgent fingers and shoves Ava’s hand beneath her shirt with all the grace of a bull in a china shop. 

Goosebumps erupt across her skin, partly because Ava’s pointedly feeling up the muscles in her stomach while kissing her like there’s no tomorrow and partly because Ava’s hands are somehow freezing again. 

Not that Beatrice is complaining, not by a long shot.

“Just to check in,” Ava says, sitting up as she finally comes up to breathe long after she’d finished stealing the breath from Beatrice’s lungs. “Comfort levels wise, what base are we aiming for here? Cause I’m down with whatever I just want to oh okay…” 

Beatrice sits up while Ava’s talking and, continuing the impulsive train from earlier, reaches down and grabs her jumper and strips it off in a single move, laying back down and leaving Ava sitting there staring at her with her mouth hanging open.

“I don’t know, I didn’t plan that far ahead. Or at all,” which is, admittedly, pretty out of character for her. “But I’ll let you know if we start going too fast and you do the same. It’ll be fine.”

“You really are full of surprises,” Ava shakes her head, eyes filled with tenderness as she stares down at her. 

“I try,” Beatrice responds, just as soft.

Ava kisses her briefly on the lips before moving down to kiss and nip at the marks she’s already left on Beatrice’s neck. 

Beatrice runs her fingers through Ava’s hair encouragingly, her blunt nails dragging against Ava’s scalp. A soft whimper escapes, dying barely heard against the back of her throat.

Ava grins against Beatrice’s neck, working the skin between her teeth over once more before releasing it with an audible pop . 

Beatrice gasps as Ava’s hand comes up and cups her breast through her bra, forgoing further exploration to knead the soft flesh, a look of wonder just visible on her face. 

“You really are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Ava breathes.

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Beatrice lies through her teeth. 

“Guess I’ll have to get creative,” Ava winks at her and flashes her a grin that’s mostly teeth. “Can I take this off?”

Ava’s thumb dips beneath the strap of Beatrice’s bra and she nods. 

Instead of acting on the permission she’s been given, Ava leans up and slowly kisses her. The nervous energy that has been accumulating slowly in the back of her mind melts away under the heat. 

Ava kisses her slowly and tenderly and it’s only a couple of minutes later when they’re panting against each other, barely kissing so much as sharing the same space when Ava slips her hand beneath Beatrice’s back.

It takes her several fumbling attempts to undo the clasp and then the fabric falls loose around Beatrice’s chest. Ava pulls away from their kiss, giving Beatrice a small grin before continuing down, pressing her lips and teeth against Beatrice’s throat, her clavicle, and finally, she pulls the thin fabric between them away and presses a kiss against Beatrice’s chest, just over her heart.

Beatrice isn’t able to stifle the noise she makes when Ava’s still freezing fingers close over her breast, and she clings to Ava’s back, hands shooting up to grab her as her back arches off the bed. 

And “ Oh… ” 

Apparently, Heaven really does exist on Earth and it’s located in a small, dingy hotel room in the New York City slums. Because there’s no other way to describe the sensation that overcomes her when Ava’s lips seal over her other nipple and she tugs , teeth nipping lightly and forcing Beatrice to clamp a hand over her mouth to contain the gasp that nearly escapes.

Ava pauses, looking up at Beatrice with dark, hooded eyes. “Don’t,” she says softly. “Let me hear you.”

She rolls Beatrice’s other nipple between her fingers the second she lifts her hand and she can’t stop the shaky whimper that escapes. 

Ava doesn’t break eye contact with her as she lowers her head down and takes Beatrice’s other nipple back into her mouth with a grin.

Beatrice moans at the sight, her hand coming up immediately to block it and Ava catches her just as quickly, her free hand grabbing Beatrice’s wrist and gently pulling her back to the bed. Ava intertwines their fingers and squeezes them reassuringly.

Beatrice isn’t really that loud. But between the blood rushing in her ears and the years of internalized self-hatred, to her own ears, she sounds unbound. 

Free.

Ava sits up, biting her lip as she trails back up Beatrice’s body to press a frankly filthy kiss against Beatrice’s lips. One Beatrice eagerly pulls her deeper into, her fears and reservations fading to the back of her mind the longer she spends with Ava meticulously deconstructing her former prison cell with her warm gaze and soft, reassuring touches.

Also, making out with Ava is very distracting.

Ava pulls away, and Beatrice is transfixed by the string of saliva that continues to connect their lips for several seconds after she’s pulled back. Beatrice is about to drag Ava back down and see about getting her to remove her tanktop when Ava distracts her, again.

“So… how do you find the area of a triangle.”

Beatrice groans, mentally cursing herself for falling in love with the world's most playful person ever, even as she rolls her eyes fondly and tries to roll onto her side, only to be stopped by Ava straddling her legs with a grin.

“Ava, I love you deeply. I would go to Hell for you in a heartbeat. I can and will fight God for you if I have to. But I swear if you don’t get back down here and finish what you started…”

Ava’s eyes widen and a huge grin splits her face. Strangely, the emotion Ava’s primarily projecting is unbridled delight . Ava leans down and kisses her again, this time far softer than she’d been just moments ago, all urgency gone from her actions as she kisses Beatrice slowly.

Beatrice realizes with sudden clarity that Ava’s been doing this on purpose. Internationally poking at Beatrice’s insecurities and grinding them to dust beneath her fingertips and Beatrice falls just a little more in love with her.

She hadn't even known that was possible.

Ava pulls back, still grinning but it's softer around the edges. She gives Beatrice a look that borders on bashful, which is strange considering Beatrice is the half-naked one.

“I don’t actually know where to go from here,” Ava half-whispers conspiratorially to her, unable to actually keep her voice down with how much excited energy is radiating off of her. 

“In terms of?” Beatrice breathes, unable to keep the laughter out of her own voice. 

“Sex,” Ava shrugs. “Believe it or not the nuns at St. Michael’s weren’t big on spicy lesbian romances… or spicy movies in general.”

“I can imagine,” Beatrice sits up slowly, projecting her movements so that Ava will sit up with her, until Ava’s settled in her lap, arms wrapped loosely around Beatrice’s shoulders. “Fortunately, I’ve been thoroughly researching this subject in preparation for this day.”

“There are so many jokes I could ma- hey!” Ava laughs, squirming away from Beatrice’s fingers as she reaches up and pinches Ava’s side.

“Behave,” Beatrice rolls her eyes, unable to even fake mild frustration while holding Ava in her arms like this. Beatrice twists her fingers into the fabric of Ava’s tanktop and tugs on it lightly. “Take this off?”

The request has barely left her lips before Ava’s tearing the offending article of clothing off and throwing it somewhere behind her.

Beatrice isn’t completely sure where, she’s too distracted by the seemingly endless expanse of Ava’s soft, scarred skin to care about her tanktop.

And the fact that she’s not wearing a bra, something Beatrice only allowed herself to become consciously aware of after Ava was already stripped bare in front of her.

“Bloody hell,” Beatrice breathes, fingers ghosting up Ava’s sides, causing her to shiver.

“Language,” Ava teases, not even attempting to hide her cocky grin as Beatrice openly stares at her chest in awe. Beatrice’s eyes snap up to meet Ava’s and Ava has just enough time to raise an eyebrow at her before Beatrice slides her arm around Ava’s back, fingers digging into the soft flesh and dragging Ava forward until their chests are flush.

“Hush,” Beatrice says, face red as she holds Ava to her and kicks off the bed, spinning them around and gently lowering Ava onto the pillows below. “Don’t make me bite you.” 

“I’m starting to think you don’t know how threats work,” Ava laughs a little breathlessly in her ear. 

Beatrice leans down and sinks her teeth into the side of Ava’s neck, just hard enough to feel confident it’ll bruise in the morning. Ava gasps, blunt fingernails digging into the muscles of Beatrice’s back. 

Beatrice hums, privately delighted with Ava’s response. Her tongue dips out to soothe the flesh between her teeth and Ava sighs, breathing much more heavily than she had been a few moments earlier. 

“As I was saying,” Beatrice continues, propping herself up on her forearms above Ava, who quietly stares up at her for once , her smile not dimming for a second as her hands come up, nails scratching lightly against Beatrice’s scalp at she runs her fingers through her hair. “I’ve been reading extensively on the subject so from a purely scientific standpoint I feel fairly confident in my own abilities. I’m afraid that any practical experience I have is fairly limited and so long ago it wouldn’t help much in this situation.”

“I’m kind of surprised you aren’t a virgin, not gonna lie,” Ava chuckles.

“Believe it or not, you aren’t the first person to find me attractive,” Beatrice rolls her eyes, voice lacking any actual heat.

“Oh trust me, I’m well aware ,” Ava grumbles. “Forgive me for making assumptions, Miss was a nun when we first met .”

“That’s… fair enough, I suppose,” Beatrice sighs. “Honestly I’m more surprised by your lack of experience in this department, given how often you’d return home late while we were living in the Alps.”

“Well I had every intention of making my way through half the population of Europe, but someone had to go and be all…” Ava gestures flippantly in Beatrice’s direction. 

“Well forgive me for ending your slut era early.” 

Ava actually cackles at that.

“You’re forgiven,” her playful grin slowly fades, a soft smile overtaking her face as one of her hands moves down to gently run her fingers along the underside of Beatrice’s jaw. “I love you, Beatrice I-don’t-know-your-last-name.”

Beatrice chuckles and leans down to press a kiss against Ava’s forehead.

“I love you too, Ava Silva,” Beatrice pulls back and watches her own fingers slowly trace a path down Ava’s chest until they ghost over the button of Ava’s jeans. “And for the record, the last name on my birth certificate is Ostergaard.”

“Wait ser-” Ava cuts herself off with a sharp inhale as Beatrice pops the button on her jeans.

“We can either continue talking about my name or…” Beatrice pulls Ava’s zipper down but doesn’t continue, watching instead as Ava freezes and swallows hard. 

“Or?” Ava responds, cheeks flushed and eyes dark with want. 

Beatrice leans down and kisses her and immediately Ava’s arms are back around her neck, drawing her further down.

There’s something uniquely divine, in feeling Ava’s bare chest pressing against her own. It’s almost overwhelming but Beatrice fights down the part of herself that just wants to stare, slackjawed at Ava’s beauty, and focuses on working an arm underneath Ava, pressing her even more firmly against Beatrice as Beatrice’s other hand slowly snakes back down and tugs lightly at Ava’s jeans.

Ava lifts her hips off the bed without instruction and between the two of them they somehow manage to rid Ava of the things without breaking their kiss. Beatrice throws them somewhere behind her and they’re forgotten about just as quickly as her tanktop.

She doesn’t wait to be asked. Beatrice reaches down to unbutton her own jeans and Ava’s hands are on her before Beatrice is aware of her moving, fingers desperate and urging against her hips, dipping down below the waistband of Beatrice’s jeans to urge her to move faster. 

Beatrice realizes that with their lack of experience she’ll probably need both hands to succeed and she lets out a frustrated huff against Ava’s lips before pulling back just enough to speak, lips still ghosting over Ava’s. “You’re going to have to tear them off because I do not intend to get up to remove them.” 

“Someone’s impatient,” Ava huffs a laugh, fingers digging roughly into the fabric as Beatrice loses her patience and moves down to press her lips against the side of Ava’s neck.

Having someone literally tear the clothing off your body has no right being as hot as it is. If she weren’t already beyond turned on from all of Ava’s earlier teasing, she most certainly would be now. As it is she accidentally bites down on the junction between Ava’s neck and shoulder far harder than she’d intended to, causing Ava’s hips to jump and for her to grind up against Beatrice’s stomach.

“Fuck me,” Ava groans under her breath, and Beatrice kisses her cheek, a small grin on her face.

“Working on it.” 

“Cheeky,” Ava’s laugh turns into a gasp as Beatrice bites her again, this time deliberately. 

“Do you have any preferences for how we should go about this?” 

“Nope, I trust you,” Ava says casually, like she’s not talking about Beatrice having her way with her sexually. “Do as you will, I surrender.” 

Ava winks and it takes a couple of seconds for Beatrice to get the reference, her forehead dropping to rest against Ava’s chest as she groans. 

“You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Only a little death, though.” 

Beatrice snorts, unable to hold it back as Ava wiggles her eyebrows at her. 

“That was horrible.” 

“You love it.”

“I love you,” Beatrice clarifies. “Now, come here.” 

She pulls Ava into another kiss, slow and gentle while her fingertips begin to map the never-ending dips and curves of her lover’s body. The way Ava’s breath catches in her throat when Beatrice pulls a nipple into her mouth. How she moans softly when Beatrice readjusts, slipping a leg in between hers and urging Ava to grind against her.

How she chokes, fingers fisting in the sheets below when Beatrice’s fingers dance across the unbelievably damp fabric of her underwear, and Beatrice is struck by a sense of familiarity. The sensation of worship. Of worshiping. 

A pleased, almost devilish chill runs up her spine at the thought. 

Her fingers dip beneath the waistline of Ava’s underwear and she can’t help the soft gasp she lets out into the hollow of Ava’s neck as her fingers meet soaked curls for the first time. 

“God above,” Beatrice prays for the first time since she lost Ava.

She kisses Ava there, reverently, before her fingers slip further down into soaked folds and one of Ava’s hands shoots up from where it was clutching the sheeting to dig dulled nails into Beatrice’s back as Ava arches against her. 

“Fuck, how are you doing that,” Ava gruffs, voice sounding deeper and scratchier.

“I’m barely doing anything,” Beatrice tries and fails to strip any hints of teasing from her voice. “How are you going to handle it when I’m inside of you?”

Beatrice somehow manages to say this while keeping a straight face. Ava groans in response and grinds up against Beatrice’s fingers.

“Forgive me for being sensitive,” Ava grumbles, far too breathless to actually come across as annoyed.

“You’re forgiven,” Beatrice leans up and kisses her gently. “And I’m not complaining, I like having you at my mercy for a change.”

Ava chokes, fingers digging into Beatrice’s shoulders as Beatrice slowly slides a single finger inside of her. “You can have me at your mercy any day,” Ava half slurs, and Beatrice chuckles. She slowly starts rocking her finger in and out of Ava, causing her to whine in her arms and curl in closer to her.

Beatrice gets a solid grip on Ava’s shoulders with the arm trapped beneath her and presses kisses against her chest. Ava sighs and rocks against her slowly. Trying to match the slow pace Beatrice has set.

Beatrice leans up and kisses Ava, lingers for several seconds until they’re both panting for breath. “This next part might take me a moment,” Beatrice warns her a bit breathlessly.

“I’m sure you’ll- Jesus fucking hell,” Ava gasps against her shoulder as Beatrice’s thumb moves to brush directly against her clit for the first time. Beatrice kisses the hollow of her throat and pulls Ava closer until her back’s no longer touching the mattress beneath her.

The Halo burns beneath Beatrice’s fingers, just barely riding the line between hot and painfully hot as the room erupts in a soft golden glow around her.

“Fuck,” Ava breathes, voice sounding ragged. And Beatrice doesn’t try anything particularly fancy. Between their inexperience and the fact Ava’s even more touch starved than she is (which is an impressive if not sad feat), she doesn’t need to do more than hold Ava close and press her thumb against Ava’s clit while continuing to slowly curl her finger inside of her.

Ava comes violently, body curling around Beatrice before the Halo kicks in and she becomes incorporeal as she phases on instinct.

It’s divine, holding Ava’s body close as she shakes, Ava’s fingers finding purchase against Beatrice’s shoulders and clinging to her. Barely present as her body tries and fails to remain solid, leaving Beatrice the only thing grounding her to reality. 

It’s holy, sacred. 

Beatrice may have lost her faith, but as she’s holding Ava in her arms as she’s coming down she can’t help feeling as though she’s just witnessed something holy.

Ava finally resolidifies and Beatrice sets her gently back onto the bed. Ava laughs breathlessly and pulls Beatrice down with her, wrapping her arms loosely around Beatrice’s waist.

Beatrice buries her face in the side of Ava’s neck, presses her lips against Ava’s thundering pulse, and feels as it slowly returns to its normal rhythm. 

“Where’d they teach you to do that at? Nun school?” Ava laughs, still sounding somewhat winded as she squeezes Beatrice closer. 

“Again, this is not a complaint in any way but you are simply incredibly easy to… get off,” Beatrice awkwardly hand waves away the end of the sentence, unwilling to remove herself from the comfort of Ava’s arms even as embarrassment pools in her stomach.

Ava snickers.

“I feel like I should be offended.”

“You shouldn’t, given your life experiences up to now it would be stranger if it weren’t easy,” Beatrice feels her face heat up slightly. “And besides, I am similarly inexperienced and will be equally easy to…”

Beatrice can’t quite manage to get the words out.

“Get off?” Ava supplies, words lacking some of their normal teasing. She kisses Beatrice’s forehead as she nods. “Well I’m hardly going to complain, this is intimidating enough as it is,” Ava chuckles.

“There’s nothing to be intimidated by,” Beatrice jumps to reassure her, as though she wasn’t also feeling intimidated by the entire situation. 

“You’re shaking,” Ava chuckles. Her fingers squeeze Beatrice’s which are resting on Ava’s stomach and she realizes she has in fact started trembling, nerves and excitement taking up equal space in her brain.

“Yes well…” Beatrice leans up on her forearms so she can meet Ava’s gaze. “I have issues.”

Ava shakes her head, a soft smile curling at the edge of her lips as she leans up and presses a soft kiss against Beatrice’s. “You’re perfect.”

And maybe that’s all it takes.

Beatrice rolls her eyes and Ava laughs, sitting up until she’s got Beatrice straddling her lap, their almost naked bodies pressed together. She softly runs her fingers along Beatrice’s spine. Beatrice shivers, hands resting lightly on Ava’s shoulders

“You really are beautiful,” Ava breathes, her eyes dipping down to take in Beatrice’s body, and much to her own surprise, she finds herself preening slightly at the praise.

“You make me feel like I am,” Beatrice responds, not needing to clarify that she doesn’t mean physically.

“Good,” Ava kisses her cheek, her voice soft. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Beatrice replies.

“I know.”

Ava kisses her, almost too quickly for Beatrice to react, before pulling away. “Hold on,” Ava grunts, the Halo sparking to life behind her and Beatrice isn’t quite able to follow what happens as Ava flips them around, using the Halo to float above Beatrice as she gently lowers her onto the mattress.

“Show off,” Beatrice says a little too breathlessly to sound anything other than completely enamored.

Ava just shakes her head with a grin and leans down to slowly kiss her. Her movements lacking any of the urgency from earlier as she gently pulls Beatrice’s bottom lip in between her teeth. 

“So,” Ava says matter-of-factly as she pulls away. “I do want to try something I read about, because it sounds very fun even though I’m not entirely sure how to go about it.”

“Okay?” Beatrice really isn’t really sure where she should exist on the nervousness scale with that.

“Don’t look so freaked out,” Ava laughs, gently poking Beatrice’s cheek. “According to the internet, this is a very normal way for two girls to have sex.”

“That neither narrows it down nor assuages any of my concerns,” Beatrice responds. She may trust Ava but she certainly doesn’t trust random people on the internet.

“Okay, so I was watching tv when one of the characters mentioned it so I looked it up online because I hate it when I don’t understand what’s happening on tv, and anyway, it’s called eating out or something like…”

“I know what you’re referring to,” Beatrice quickly cuts her off, face already starting to heat up. “That’s… that’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? Cuz I can do what you did too. I’ve been daydreaming about mine since we were in Switzerland so I’m not in any rush or anything if it’s like… a lot or something.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Beatrice rushes to respond. “I just… hadn’t considered it a possibility, I suppose.”

Ava raises an eyebrow and Beatrice cuts her off before she can say anything. 

“Really, it’s just… intimate is all,” Beatrice takes a deep breath and forces her nerves down. 

“As long as you’re sure,” Beatrice meets Ava’s eyes and after a beat, a beat in which she feels the weight of Ava’s words, the sureness of them, she nods.

“I’m certain.”

“Great,” Ava grins. “Then I’m going to eat you out.”

“Lord have mercy.”

“Sorry,” Ava replies cheekily. “God can’t help you now.”

“Why are you like this?” Beatrice groans and Ava chuckles, fingers closing around Beatrice’s wrist and keeping her from covering her eyes.

“Because it makes you forget that you're nervous,” Ava states it like it’s obvious, still smiling down at her. “Plus it’s really cute when you get all flustered and start stomping around to try to hide it.”

“Shut up,” Beatrice grumbles, knowing anything she might say in response will just get used against her. Because Ava’s right, this does help distract her from her nerves.

“Yes ma’am,” Ava leans down and kisses her, and Beatrice is reminded that they’re both practically nude and she moans into Ava’s mouth. 

Ava doesn’t hesitate and for once Beatrice is beyond relieved with her impulsive nature if only so she doesn’t have even more time to overthink things.

Ava kisses down her body, pausing briefly to nip at the still-forming love bites she’d left scattered across Beatrice’s torso before moving further down.

Ava nibbles gently at the sensitive flesh of Beatrice’s stomach and Beatrice laughs breathlessly as Ava’s tongue traces the outline of her abdominal muscles.

“That tickles,” one of Beatrice’s hands moved up from its home twisted in the bedsheets to rake through Ava’s hair. Ava looks up at her then, a dangerous gleam in her eyes and Beatrice has just enough time to swallow before Ava licks a long line from the edge of her underwear all the way up to her sternum.

Beatrice feels heat pool in her stomach at the sight. Ava smirks, eyes dancing playfully as she stares up at her.

“Better?” Ava grins.

“ Ava ,” Beatrice half groans. Ava kisses her, her lips pressing warmth against Beatrice’s chest as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Her hands gently press into Beatrice’s side, fingers tenderly stroking the scarred flesh.

When Ava opens her eyes again, there’s an intensity to her expression that makes Beatrice’s heart stutter to a stop and her breath catches in her throat. 

Ava’s smile is no less bright, but something about the way she’s looking at her makes the rest of the universe grind to a halt. Like nothing exists except the two of them and Beatrice forces a shaky breath into her lungs. 

“ Ava… ” she says her name like a prayer. 

In a way it is.

Ava slowly trails back down Beatrice’s body, maintaining eye contact as she does so. She presses a soft kiss against the waistband of Beatrice’s underwear a pauses, fingers pressing into the elastic. “Can I?”

“Yeah,” Beatrice nods, and Ava, with far greater skill than Beatrice is expecting, tugs them off before they too are lost to the floor.

Ava wastes no time pressing a kiss against the damp, curly hair guarding her center and Beatrice lets out a soft gasp at the contact.

It pales in comparison to the sight of Ava between her legs, a smirk fully on display as she slowly licks Beatrice’s residual wetness off her lips.

Beatrice allows her head to drop back to the pillow, unable to maintain eye contact with Ava going out of her way to leave Beatrice a soaking mess in the sheets.

Ava wraps an arm around Beatrice’s hips, her other hand reaching out to tangle fingers with the hand Beatrice still has fisted in the sheets.

Ava settles, and gently kisses the inside of Beatrice's thigh. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Beatrice squeezes Ava hand, and Ava squeezes back.

Then Ava licks her way into her, and Beatrice forgets how to string together conscious thought.

Ava makes up for her lack of technique or experience with an abundance of enthusiasm… not that Beatrice can really tell the difference at the moment.

It’s very different from her own, guilt ridden forays into chasing her own pleasure. The largest difference being the fact that despite her nerves, there isn’t a single part of her that can manage to feel guilty. Ava makes it hard with the way she’s humming, pleased, under her breath as she buries her face between Beatrice’s thighs. Emitting little noises in a manner very similar to the noises she makes when discovering a new food she enjoys for the first time.

Ava’s tongue accidentally runs over her clit and there’s nothing she can do to stop her hips from jumping up against her. Ava’s arm flexes and forces her hips back against the mattress. 

It is, perhaps, the single hottest thing to ever happen to her in her 24 years of existence.

Which is saying something, seeing as she shared a bed and apartment with Ava for two months on top of everything else.

Ava, being the incredibly quick learner that she is, hones in on Beatrice’s reaction and focuses, finding her clit again only this time instead of licking she seals her lips around her and sucks.

Hard.

Beatrice keens, fingers scrambling to urge Ava closer.

“ Ava .”

Ava hums in acknowledgment, the vibrations alone enough to force Beatrice to choke out a quiet moan.

“Let me hear you,” Ava pulls back just enough to speak, her warm breath washing over Beatrice and making her shiver. “I want to hear you.”

She lowers herself back down and takes Beatrice into her mouth with a soft, content hum. Beatrice sighs, consciously allowing the breath to escape between her teeth 

She’s not loud per se, her soft, breathless moans barely fill the space between them. But to her own ear it sounds thunderous, an all-consuming cacophony. 

Ava squeezes her hand.

Beatrice clings back.

She comes almost silently, her heavy breathing and whispers prayers of Ava’s name the only sounds able to reach her ears over the pounding of her heart.

Ava doesn’t react as she pushes Beatrice over the edge, continuing her ministrations until Beatrice gently pushes her face away with trembling fingers.

Ava drags herself back up so she’s hovering over Beatrice. Her grin is both hopeful and a little smug as she wipes her mouth off with the back of her arm. “Good?” She asks.

“Wonderful,” Beatrice reaches up and wraps her arms around Ava’s neck, urging her down until she’s curled up half on top of Beatrice, the opposite of how they have historically fallen asleep.

Ava doesn’t respond at first, just drapes an arm over Beatrice’s stomach and pulls her closer, pressing a heatless kiss against the side of her neck. “Awesome,” Ava yawns.

“Tired?” Beatrice asks. Ava shakes her head and curls a little closer.

“No, just give me ten minutes and I can go again.”

Given how powerful the Halo is, Beatrice doesn’t doubt her for a second. If anything, Ava might be underestimating how quickly it will allow her to recover.

Unfortunately, Beatrice is still wholly and fully mortal and her stamina is, at least in this regard, still fairly lacking. 

“Rest,” Beatrice chuckles. “We’ll have plenty of time to do stamina training at a later date.”

Ava laughs, the force of it enough to jostle the bed.

“Is that your way of saying marathon sex later? Because I’m definitely going to need to borrow your research first to get some ideas,” Ava grins against her neck, and Beatrice groans, face heating up once again.

“Just… go to sleep.”

Ava giggles and Beatrice kisses her temple, exasperated.

“That wasn’t a no.”

-

Beatrice gets up and starts packing only a couple of hours later. 

She wants, more than anything, to stay curled up in bed with Ava for the rest of the day, indulging in her presence. Unfortunately, between the FBC attack and Antonio showing up on the front step, she really doesn’t want to take any risks when it comes to their health and safety. 

Especially since she only just got Ava back. 

She’d been planning to stay in this location for at least another week, but thankfully she’s already scouted out several other hotels (in a completely different neighborhood) and has a destination in mind. 

“What’re you doing?” Ava grumbles sleepily from beneath the covers. Beatrice walks over to her and leans down to gently kiss her cheek.

“Packing, we need to move.”

“Right now?” Ava groans 

“Today,” Beatrice gives her a small, apologetic smile. “I don’t want to risk anyone finding us, especially now that you’ve returned.”

“That’s… practical,” Ava admits. “It was a little weird your friend knew where you were staying, not gonna lie.”

Beatrice shrugs and goes back to packing the few items not already loaded up in one of her suitcases.

“It’s convenient to have someone local who can check in on me in a situation like that where I might be in danger,” Beatrice shrugs. “The OCS is stretched far too thin to help in a timely manner and Camila did a deep dive into his record when we first started working together and is still monitoring him so…”

“That makes a lot more sense,” Ava chuckles as a thought occurs to Beatrice.

“Actually, given that, it’s likely she’s going to realize you’ve returned sooner rather than later since there’s no way he won’t tell Josh about you and she has his phone bugged.”

“Shit, you’re right. What time is it in Madrid?”

“Like seven or so?”

“Alright, toss me your phone,” Ava yawns. “I’ll call her while you finish up packing.”

“Put on some clothes first,” Beatrice says, earning her a confused look from Ava. “There’s no universe in which she won’t want to video call with you the minute she learns you’re back.”

Beatrice is, of course, correct. And she watches them, watches Ava’s face light up time and again as Camila answers, and then proceeds to run all over the Cat’s Cradle to find Mother Superion, introducing Ava to several new recruits as she goes.

Beatrice watches them with a small smile, the pieces of her life finally, finally slotting together, and perhaps for the first time in her 24 years of living, she finally feels wholly and entirely at peace.

-

Your power regave me new life

Made me reborn and refined

Rebuilt from inside and we both know why